Hello and Welcome! We are the Dwyer Family. We farm in the beautiful Ottawa Valley, Ontario, Canada. We are a Christian, Roman Catholic family with five children. We own and operate 'Dwyer's Farmhouse'. It's a farm vacation get-a-way place. Our guests stay in a farmhouse and experience a working farm. I hope you enjoy following along with our adventures.....there is never a dull moment here! This is our farm story....

Wednesday, 30 October 2013

I took my first blog year and I made it into a blurb book. The layout isn't exactly how I wanted it....the text is all together for each post...it's not separated with photos in between....but the photos are all there and the text is all there....so it's all good. You can see it here.

When I was uploading the photos from the blog onto the book, I could see each of the photos flashing on my screen. It was emotional. It was this past year of my life....right there in front of my eyes.

So much has changed.

And yet so much is still the same.

I am so very blessed.

From about the age of 12, I have been writing on my calendar. Every single day I would just jot down what happened that day....where I went or what I did. It was just a simple idea. My sister did it on her calendar too. It wasn't really personal. It was just a way for me to remember things.

I don't remember things very well.

I can look at the cover of a book and know that I read it....but I don't remember what it was about.

I can watch a movie and half way through realize that I have actually seen it before....but I don't really remember it all....so I can keep watching it.

So, when it comes to life....it can just go by and I will completely forget about what happened.

I just need to be reminded. All my little notes on my calendars tell me everything. Sometimes I can remember the entire day just by reading a couple of simple lines about where I went or what I did. It's amazing. It makes me remember.

There were a couple of years when I stopped writing on the calendar. Johanna and Grady were small and Terry was working away....and life became a blur. And I actually don't remember those years...and I don't have the calendars to remind me.

Then Terry asked me to start writing on the calendar again. He loved my little notes. He also loves to get out the calendars and say "remember when....." or "it's been five years since so and so died because we went to their wake on this night".

The other night he said that the blog is so much better than the little squares on the calendar.

And it is.

It just freaks me out a bit when I think about it....it's not just for us to read....anyone can read it.

Wednesday, 23 October 2013

So I searched Pinterest for ideas and I found this amazing marshmallow cobweb cake here on The Cake Blog.

I took the cobweb idea and I did this....

I made a pumpkin cake and covered it in a purple buttercream. Then I piped on the orange letters.

I outlined the letters in melted chocolate and I piped an orange swirl along the bottom of the cake.
I also made some spiders with the melted chocolate. I just piped them onto some parchment paper and put them in the fridge to harden.....and I didn't take any photos of them.

Then I left the cake in the fridge overnight to let the buttercream crust.

The spider web was pretty easy to make. Just melt a cup of marshmallows in the microwave for 30 seconds and then stir them up really well. Use your fingers to just stretch the goop across the cake all different ways.

Winner of a Silver Medal for the Best Family Blog in the Canadian Blog Awards 2013

A big Ottawa Valley 'Gidday' and welcome to our blog! Our guests always have so many questions about our way of life that I thought I should blog it. You can follow us all year long! Thanks for stopping by...let me know you were here by leaving a comment.

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Dwyer's Farmhouse

Dwyer's Farmhouse is a very unique farm experience for your family. The century old farmhouse is rented out exclusively to you. Bring the family and stay on a working farm...and have the place to yourself! Don't forget to feed the hens and gather the fresh eggs for your breakfast. Cuddle the barn kittens and treat the work horses to an apple or carrot. Pick some fresh produce from the garden. Relax and watch the cattle graze or spend the day exploring the Ottawa Valley. When evening comes you can roast a marshmallow on the bonfire and gaze at the stars. Then settle in for the night in Dwyer's Farmhouse. It will be just like the sleepovers you used to have at Grandma's farm. Your children will cherish the memories and want to come back to stay again and again.